FLORENCE, S.C. - The 23rd-ranked Columbus State University baseball team fended off a late rally from Francis Marion University to capture a 10-9 victory and series win on Sunday at Sparrow Stadium.
With the win, the Cougars (21-10, 16-10 PBC) have now won four straight Peach Belt Conference series dating back to late March.
"This was a must-win for us," commented head coach
Greg Appleton. "Everyone is fighting for positioning for postseason play, and all these games are taking on even more importance. Give credit to our guys for hanging in there to win in a difficult place to play."
Columbus State did all of its damage in the third and fourth innings on Sunday to take a commanding lead early. The Cougars were finally able to get to FMU starter Daniel Twitty in the third after falling down 2-0 in the first. The inning was fueled by a costly FMU error that allowed
Connor Kirley to reach base with one-out before
Isaac Bouton drew a walk to put two on. Twitty nearly escaped the threat, but
Robert Brooks made the extra out hurt with a two-out single that scored Kirley. The real damage came during the next at-bat as
Steven Minter laced a three-run homer down the left-field line to put CSU in front 4-2.
Cougar starter
Jake Hershman put together a shut down inning on the hill in the bottom half of the third before the CSU bats were at it again.
Matthew McDade started it all with a one-out solo homer to left, while Kirley followed with a single to keep the pressure on the Patriots. Kirley stole second with Bouton at the plate and later scored on a single to center to add to the CSU lead.
With the Cougars up 6-2 on two on base, Minter stepped back to the plate and smashed his second three-run homer of the day to extend the advantage.
Dane Bullock drove in the 10th run of the inning on a single after a
David Meadows single and stolen base.
Francis Marion began slowly chipping away at the lead in the fourth, scoring a run in three straight innings. Jack Hegan had a two-out double in the fourth, while a Todd Mattox single in the fifth made it 10-4. In the sixth, the Patriots greeted Cougar reliever
Dalton Bradford with a run after an RBI groundout.
It became a three-run game in the seventh as Will Hardee hit a two-run homer for FMU before
Miles Dutton was able to retire the side.
The Patriots pushed across another two-out run in the eighth on a Bill Hanna single. CSUs' defense didn't help in the inning as a passed ball played a key role in the inning
Brady Kais entered the game in the ninth from the Cougar bullpen but things didn't go as planned. A Hardee double and a Mattox single made it a 10-9 game before an out was retired. After a deep flyout, Appleton called on Zach Brockman to get the final two outs of the game. Brockman delivered, getting a popup and a struck out to record his first save of the season.
Minter had a monster 2-for-4 performance with two three-run homers, while McDade (2-for-5, 2B, RBI, run) was the only other Cougar with a two-hit day.
Hershman pitched well in his start to improve to 3-0 on the season. The righty struck out seven in five innings while allowing four runs on seven hits. CSU used five relievers in the game, including a scoreless inning from
Noah Windhorst.
UP NEXT
Columbus State will play a non-conference midweek contest against the University of West Georgia on Monday, April 21. First pitch is at 5 p.m. at Cole Field in Carrollton, Ga.
COUGAR NOTES
• Minter drove in 10 in the series after going 9-for-14 at the plate. He had four extra-base hits in the series and scored seven times. He is now second on the team in homers with 10.
• Meadows extended his hitting streak to eight games. He was 6-for-14 this weekend against the Patriots with three steals.
• The Cougars have now hit three or more homers in nine different games in 2021.
• It's the first time this season that Columbus State has a winning record on the road (8-7).
• The Cougars have won 10 of their past 13 games.
• Brockman hasn't allowed a run in his last three appearances.
• Bouton has now reached base in 42 straight games.
